Z Special Unit

HMAS or SS Krait AWM 044211

HMAS Tiger Snake

Brief History

'Z' Special Unit was a joint special forces unit formed to operate behind Japanese lines in South East Asia. Predominantly Australian, Z Special Unit was a specialist reconnaissance and sabotage unit that also included British, Dutch, New Zealand, Timorese and Indonesian members, predominantly operating on Borneo and the islands of the former Dutch East Indies.

Several training schools were established in various locations across Australia, the most notable being Camp Z in Refuge Bay, north of Sydney. Other training schools include the Special Boat Section at Careening Bay Camp, on Garden Island, Western Australia, and at the Darwin Quarantine Station.

The unit carried out a total of 81 covert operations with parties inserted by parachute or submarine to provide intelligence and conduct guerrilla warfare. The best known of these missions were Operation Jaywick and Operation Rimau, both of which involved raids on Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour; the latter of which resulted in the deaths of 23 commandos either in action or by execution after capture.

Unit Personnel

• Mervyn Charles Henry Sharp

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 2 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page2.591 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018